Short Bites

By Erin in Food on Dec 15, 2005 4:39PM

The lovely folks running the Chicago Tribune's Good Eating section have come out with their Top 12 of 2005 product list. Chicagoist is happy to see that not only high-end products such as Epicurean Butter get a mention but also practical items such as the Ziploc Twist 'N Loc. Seriously, those Ziploc things rule the school. We could live a million lifetimes without cinnamon-raisin infused butter but we'll be damned if we'll ever again deal with a butternut squash soup nighmare in the bottom of our lunch bags.

OK. So Crain's may not be known for being the best resource for restaurants and food for the masses but Chicagoist tips its hat to those business-bent kids for knowing their audience. This week Crain's points its readers towards some of the better spots for high-end, late-night eating, perfect holiday lunch spots and a sidebar featuring holiday party trends including this gem: "Investment bankers, about to enjoy seven-figure bonuses, are investing thousands of dollars in salmanazars — which hold the equivalent of 12 bottles of wine — to impress guests." Salmanazars are things mere mortals have no use for but gosh it's interesting to see how the other half with way too much disposable income lives!

Finally, Chicagoist sends big, gigantic love out to Art Golab and Janet Rausa Fuller of the Sun-Times for their story "The New Math of Dining Out." They took a whole lotta data and weaved it all into a fascinating piece on how dramatically different the city's dining scene has become in the past decade.